Does anybody have an idea of the criteria used in the 1901 Irish census to classify houses? I'm thinking of rural houses, not those in towns. What is the difference between class 2 & 3 houses, is it just the number of rooms, windows, or was there a definite classification? And would I be right in supposing that a 2 room class 2 house would have been a cabin? Even if it had stone walls. And that the 0 classification in part two regarding the roof ( not being of stone or slate ) it normally would mean thatch? It states ' soft materials, wood or thatch '. I cannot imagine many Irish houses having wooden roofs. It's illuminating how many of these buildings had walls made not of hard materials i.e. stone or brick, and to begin to think " mud huts " - until you remember how desirable cob houses are in the west of England, and how warm and weatherproof, as long as the roof is cared for. I would have thought, also, that most of the houses that had hard walls were of stone and not of brick. But perhaps someone can enlighten me. Is there a guide to how to read this census anywhere? It has so much information in it. Mary

Hi Mary - Per the National Archives website in Dublin, the returns for 1901 and 1911 are arranged by townland (the smallest division of land) or, in urban areas, by street. The 1901 census lists, for every member of each household; name, age, sex, relationship to head of the household, religion, occupation, marital status and county or country of birth. The census also records an individual's ability to read or write and ability to speak the Irish language. All of this information is given on Form A of the census, which was filled in and signed by the head of each household. Where the head of the household could not write, his or her mark, usually an X, was recorded and witnessed by the enumerator. The same information was recorded in the 1911 census, with one significant addition: married women were required to state the number of years they had been married, the number of their children born alive and the number still living. In addition to returns for every household in the country, both censuses contain returns for police and military barracks, public and private asylums, prisons, hospitals, workhouses, colleges, boarding schools and industrial schools among other institutions. The returns for both censuses also give details of houses, recording the number of windows, type of roof and number of rooms occupied by each family. Each house is also classified according to its overall condition. The number of out-offices and farm buildings attached to each household is also given. This information is recorded by the enumerator, who provided summaries of the returns for each townland and street, including the religious denomination of occupants. These summaries include a list of heads of household, thus providing a nominal index for each townland or street. If I find any answers to your specific questions, Mary, I will post an addendum. J. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Simpson" <mary@msimpson.demon.co.uk> To: <irl-kerry@rootsweb.com>; "Rootsweb Cork" <irl-cork@rootsweb.com>; <IRL-WEXFORD@rootsweb.com>; <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 6:21 AM Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Class of houses > Does anybody have an idea of the criteria used in the 1901 Irish census > to classify houses? I'm thinking of rural houses, not those in towns. > What is the difference between class 2 & 3 houses, is it just the > number of rooms, windows, or was there a definite classification? And > would I be right in supposing that a 2 room class 2 house would have > been a cabin? Even if it had stone walls. And that the 0 > classification in part two regarding the roof ( not being of stone or > slate ) it normally would mean thatch? It states ' soft materials, > wood or thatch '. I cannot imagine many Irish houses having wooden > roofs. > > It's illuminating how many of these buildings had walls made not of > hard materials i.e. stone or brick, and to begin to think " mud huts " > - until you remember how desirable cob houses are in the west of > England, and how warm and weatherproof, as long as the roof is cared > for. I would have thought, also, that most of the houses that had hard > walls were of stone and not of brick. But perhaps someone can enlighten > me. > > Is there a guide to how to read this census anywhere? It has so much > information in it. > > Mary